Claim Your Financial Power & Use Your Voice!

THEY WANT US TO SHUT UP!
I love this quote from Sallie Krawcheck’s Ellevest newsletter. Although controversial, it is true. I love to repeat it over and over again.

Claiming your FINANCIAL POWER is one of the basic tenets in my workshops. We need to speak up for ourselves – especially about money, our jobs and our relationships. We have powerful examples in the media of women using their voices to bring attention to key issues such as sexism, sexual harassment and NEGOTIATING.

Susan Fowler highlighted the sexist culture at Uber that led to the downfall of the Uber CEO. Co-founders of specific venture capital firms admitted to sexual harassment. Gretchen Carlson highlighted the sexual harassment at Fox Network that led to the downfall of Roger Ailes.

WHY? These women were bold enough to go public with their claims.

This week I add examples of USING YOUR VOICE for Negotiating. I use Hollywood actresses as highly visible examples of the challenge involved in negotiating for equal pay.

Robin Wright asked for equal pay with Kevin Spacey. When she was refused, she threatened to go public as her ratings showed she was just as popular and had just won a coveted Golden Globe for the role. The network came back and offered her equal pay to her co-star. Robin then shared her story at a Gala reception – thank you Robin!

Charlize Theron sparked controversy when she asked for equal pay of $10 million with her co-star in The Huntsman. She was viewed as greedy. Charlize also negotiated for higher pay for Mad Max – way to be an example!

Here’s the caveat: there is always RISK in using your voice. In one of my favorite TV shows growing up, Three’s Company, Suzanne Somers played Chrissy Snow and gained national popularity. She asked for a pay raise…and they wrote her off the show! She ended up going on to build a multi-million dollar empire and still appears on the TV show’s homepage.

Let’s focus on using our voices for raises, promotions and key assignments. They want us to shut up….WE WILL USE OUR VOICES.